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March 27, 2024Ingegerd Silow (1916-2005) stands as one of the most prolific and influential Swedish carpet designers of the midcentury era. Throughout her extensive career, she crafted an exceptional array of carpets and rugs, predominantly in the flat weave rölakan style. Silow’s designs are celebrated for their contemporary and sophisticated approach to the motifs and ambiance of the romantic Swedish Grace Movement from the 1920s. Additionally, her work bears the imprint of her travels in the American Southwest and Mexico.As a member of the second generation of twentieth-century Swedish textile designers, Silow was immersed in the rich legacy of her predecessors during her training at Konstfack, Stockholm’s renowned art and craft school. This heritage is distinctly evident in her carpets, characterized by the highest quality materials and impeccable weaving techniques rooted in folk craft traditions. Furthermore, Silow’s creations exude the warm minimalism characteristic of classic Swedish design, contributing to her lasting impact on the midcentury design landscape.
Ingegerd Silow-designed “Koburg blue” rya rug
Beyond her notable contributions to rugs and carpets, Ingegerd Silow demonstrated her prolific talent as a pattern designer for the Swedish Handicraft Association, Svensk Hemslöjd. Her creative imprint extended to a diverse range of furnishings, including curtains, blankets, and other decor pieces. Silow’s designs, marked by their distinctive style, were mass-produced by prominent companies such as Axeco AB, AB Heyman & Olesen, and Eric Ewers AB. As a result, her creations found a place in numerous post-war Swedish homes, leaving an enduring legacy in the realm of textile design. In addition to occasionally designing rugs woven by hemslöjd organizations, primarily for churches, Ingegerd Silow carved out a distinctive niche for herself as a rug designer catering not only to affluent individuals or commissioned projects but also to a broader market. Her rugs became accessible in various sizes and an expanding array of patterns and colors through collaboration with several newly-established rug companies.
Ingegerd Silow, rölakan, 230 x 167 cm, golden greek-fret design, sold Auktionsverket Norrköping 8/27/18
Märta Måås-Fjetterström, Brown Heather, Bruna Heden, designed 1931, this example 244.5 x 173 cm, sold Bukowskis 3/10/18
The Axeco Company’s website acknowledges Silow’s significant role, crediting her with designing their line of flat-weave rugs starting in the 1960s. According to the company, these rugs swiftly became a ubiquitous presence in nearly every Swedish home, attesting to Silow’s widespread influence and the popularity of her designs among a diverse audience.
In addition to her contributions to flat-weave rugs, Ingegerd Silow extended her design prowess to rya rugs, likely sold as kits. A visual testament to her expertise and innovative designs is showcased on the cover of the 1949 Swedish HusModern magazine. At 33 years old, Silow graced the cover, surrounded by rya rugs she had specifically designed for the magazine’s new “Rya Club.” The cover image captures her actively engaged in the craft, handling the yarns essential for creating one of these distinctive rya rugs. This feature not only highlights Silow’s versatility as a designer but also underscores her commitment to making her designs accessible to a broader audience through various mediums.
Ingegerd Silow’s artistic prowess extended beyond her role as a designer; she was a talented colorist. Even in the creation of rugs where thousands of copies might be produced, Silow demonstrated a keen eye for color by specifying intriguing mixes of yarn colors. Upon close examination of her rugs, one can discern that each color, even in background areas, incorporates subtle undertones of other colors present in the rug. This meticulous attention to detail results in each rug possessing a distinctive “cloud” of color, characterized by an overall harmonious blend. Silow’s textile signature, a bold “IS,” not only signifies her authorship but also encapsulates her commitment to elevating her designs through thoughtful and nuanced use of color.
Ingegerd Silow, rölakan, 200 x 135 cm, sold Göteborgs Auktionsverk 5/24/13
In her innovative approach, Ingegerd Silow skillfully incorporated familiar elements of traditional Swedish weaving into her designs, breaking away from the conventional red-yellow-black-green palette. She breathed new life into these elements through a fresh and updated application, introducing vibrant colorations that departed from traditional norms. Silow’s designs showcased a range of complexity—from simple yet striking patterns utilizing hourglasses, eight-sided stars, and small crosses to more intricate and elaborate overall patterns where these elements were seamlessly integrated. This ability to blend tradition with a contemporary twist underscored Silow’s artistic vision and contributed to the enduring appeal of her work.
“While each texture and weave in the Scandinavian Collection enjoys a culmination of honorific and innovative elements, it’s fair to argue that the Scandinavian Flat Weave line has become the most exempletive of honoring the weaving traditions and preserving the spirit while still innovating the process for a modern audience. Quickly becoming a new hallmark of the line, each flat weave in our Scandinavian Collection sports a variety of undyed, natural yarns visible to both the connoisseur and the neophyte. The more prevailing natural color—interwoven like a series of visually unexpected accents in the body of our Scandinavian Kilim—plays a major role in creating that gentle distinction of an abrashed look departing from other solid-color geometric patterns with clear borders and proportions. This unique technique of ours was meant to be the negotiation between the transitional rug appeal of the mid-century modern style and an homage to the traditional Scandinavian rug and flat weave technique, in which excess and leftover yarn would be interwoven in an otherwise ‘complete’ piece”
Read more about our Sxcandinavian collection here – https://rugandkilim.com/rug-kilim-on-the-past-and-present-of-swedish-modernism-in-luxury-carpets/
View some of our Scandinavian rugs and kilims with patterns inspired by the timeless designs of Ingregard Silow –
